MUMBAI: At 6am on Gandhi Jayanti, the 1,350kg Indian Mars Orbiter began its initial journey towards the Red Planet. After a puja for the mission's success, the spacecraft was flagged off from the Isro Satellite Centre in Bangalore towards the launch centre at Sriharikota near Chennai. The orbiter, with its five payloads, is expected to reach Sriharikota on Thursday evening. There it will undergo more tests before the launch at 4.15pm on October 28.